Guest post: Exotic among exotics, Iran shares cast a spell – beyondbrics - Blogs - FT.com

Guest post: Exotic among exotics, Iran shares cast a spell – beyondbrics - Blogs - FT.com:



"The best performing stock market in the world in 2013 was up 130 per cent last year*. The country it serves has a population of nearly 80m, some 40 per cent of whom are under the age of 24. It has one of the world’s highest literacy rates and is also home to the world’s fourth largest proven crude oil reserves. Which market is this? The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), of course.



For frontier market investors, Iran remains the Holy Grail. Charles Robertson, Global Chief Economist at Renaissance Capital, believes that following the opening of the Saudi Arabian market, “Iran is the world’s last major market to open up” and could potentially be accessible in the next 6-18 months.



First established in the 1960s, the TSE now has 320 listed companies, with an aggregate market capitalisation of $130bn. There is also a smaller over-the-counter market, the Fara bourse, which lists 180 companies, with an aggregate market capitalisation of $40bn. Combined across both markets, $100m trades are completed on a daily basis. At its peak last year, trading liquidity reached $250m per day."



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